Alert – US will NOT help Europe if Russia attacks, leaked Pentagon document reveals

The United States would likely not help Europe in the event of a Russian attack, a leaked Pentagon document has revealed.

Secret guidance from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged that the Trump administration is unlikely to provide substantial, if any, support to Europe in case of a Russian advance, according to the Washington Post.

The ‘Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance’ document says that the U.S. would support Europe against Russia with its huge nuclear deterrence capabilities, but that allies could only count on troops not already required for homeland defence or deterring China.

The admission echoes recent calls from Hegseth and senior administration officials for European allies to do more to invest in their own defence and reduce reliance on the United States.

The guidance document argues the importance of recalibrating military focus on China, fearing a potential clash in the Pacific over Taiwan, which is seen as being both geostrategically important and crucial for its niche manufacturing output.

Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had also committed to defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion – but it was something Trump signalled he would not do as recently as last summer, arguing the island ‘doesn’t give us anything’.

The stark admission on Europe comes in spite of existing NATO commitments binding members to help each other in their time of need – only previously invoked by the U.S. in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and met by a large European response.

A British soldier reloads their firearm on February 17, 2025 in Smardan, Romania

A Swedish artillery team fires a projectile from an Archer self-propelled Howitzer during the NATO “Exercise Lightning Strike” on November 20, 2024 near Heinu, Finland

Vladimir Putin during a press conference with journalists in Moscow, March 18 2024

British Marines run towards a Taliban position near Kajaki, Afghanistan on March 18, 2007. Allies rallied to help the U.S. following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001

The document seen by the Washington Post outlines the Trump administration’s reorientation towards China and away from ‘other theatres’, the outlet reports.

The Washington Post said the memo bore ‘the fingerprints’ of the Heritage Foundation, including ‘some passages that are nearly word-for-word duplications of text published by the think tank last year’. 

Trump disavowed Heritage’s Project 2025 manifesto during his campaign, but the outlet judged there were striking similarities between the guidance and a 2024 report by the foundation.

The document consolidates recent comments from administration officials that the U.S. would pressure allies in Europe, the Middle East and East Asia to do more heavy-lifting on defence spending, reducing reliance on the United States.

As such, America’s allies around the world will be encouraged to lead in deterring aggression from Russia, North Korea and Iran.

‘China is the Department’s sole pacing threat, and denial of a Chinese seizure of Taiwan — while simultaneously defending the U.S. homeland is the Department’s sole pacing scenario,’ Hegseth wrote.

The Pentagon is also expected to deprioritise taking on militant groups in the Middle East and Africa who are ‘regionally destabilising’ but not carrying out international attacks.

The message sets a worrying tone, with the U.S. central in upholding the security of maritime trade and working with international partners to help defuse regional conflicts. Compiling humanitarian consequences, the U.S. and Britain have recently committed to reducing foreign aid.

Concerns continue to be aired that concessions to Russia could set a dangerous precedent to bad faith actors hoping to launch wars of aggression with relative impunity.

U.S. marines participate in an amphibious assault exercise in Thailand, March 3, 2025

Smoke rises following a Russian kamikaze drone attacks on Dnipro, Ukraine on March 29, 2025

Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, speaks to his Japanese equivalent, Gen Nakatani, in Tokyo on March 30

A conciliatory deal in Ukraine could also give Chinese premier Xi Jinping the impression he can take Taiwan 'and all that he has to do is suffer the wrath of the international community for three years before he'd be allowed to come back into the fold again,' Philip Ingram MBE, retired British Army colonel and military intelligence specialist, told last month.

The commitment to the defence of Taiwan will be welcomed by Taipei after a shaky start with the Trump administration.

President Lai Ching-te, in line with many European leaders, said last week that Taiwan would increase defence spending to more than 3 per cent of its GDP, up from around 2.5 per cent.

This falls short of the 10 per cent demanded by the United States. Ukraine, three years into the Russian invasion, plans to spend 26 per cent of GDP on defence this year, officials said.

European officials warn that they are currently underprepared to face off a Russian invasion were Putin to carry on past Ukraine.

Speaking to BBC's Radio 4, Germany's top general warned that Putin could attack NATO territory in as little as four years.

Carsten Breuer said an additional 100,000 soldiers would be needed to ensure the country's ability to defend itself.

Russia has lost an estimated 250,000 soldiers since the beginning of the invasion, and a total 900,000 casualties, according to the Ministry of Defence. 

But in September, the Kremlin announced it would be increasing the size of its army to as many as 1.5 million active soldiers - eclipsing all other European armies.

British Army soldiers from Badger Squadron, The Royal Tank Regiment part of the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team ride Challenger 2 tanks during Exercise Immediate Response as one component of NATO's Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024, in Poland May 15, 2024

President Donald Trump takes questions in the Oval Office on March 28, 2025

File photo shows German troops at the Julius Leber Barracks in Berlin, April 24, 2024 

A decree sought to boost troop numbers by 180,000 - the size of the entire armed forces of Germany - to make Russia the second largest in the world by active troop size, after only China.

Russia also has no need to resort to conscription, leaning on its extensive veteran community and swell of volunteers to fight in Ukraine. 

More than a million people reach military age in Russia every year, and all men aged 18-30 are liable to perform one year of national service.

This means that Russia would have huge numbers of military-trained and able-bodied fighters in reserve, should it ever come to blows with NATO on the battlefield.

Germany and Poland are expected to be among the countries leading Europe's efforts to beef up continental security and are tasked by NATO with providing the bulk of ground forces that would act as first responders to any Russian attack on the alliance's eastern flank.

Poland is already far ahead of its European counterparts in terms of defence spending, and Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on Wednesday that his country plans to further increase expenditure up to 4.7% of GDP on defence this year.

Last year, German media revealed the nation will transform into a NATO staging ground if the conflict to the East should escalate.

According to a leaked 1,000-page document entitled 'Operationsplan Deutschland', Germany would reportedly host hundreds of thousands of troops from NATO countries and serve as a logistics hub for sending huge quantities of military equipment, food and medicine toward the front.

A report by Der Spiegel in the summer said as many as 800,000 soldiers from the security bloc could be hosted by Germany as they transit to posts further East.